Depressed Writer

I found out my husband of three years had cheated on me and his mistress is the one who told me—because he didn’t have the balls to do it himself. I move out and get a new apartment, a job as a bartender, and try to move on with a broken heart. I wonder where it all went wrong, if I hadn’t been enough for him, if I’d been stupid for marrying him in the first place. I’m at work one night when he walks inside—the most beautiful man I’ve ever seen. He sits at the bar and a forest fire burns between us. I was depressed the moment before he entered, but the second I look at his blue eyes, I forget the dumpster fire that my life has become. I invite him back to my place and it’s the most passionate night of my life. I expect to never see him again. I just want him as an anti-depressant—but he wants me all to himself. I just got my heart ripped out of my chest so I want something easy and no-strings-attached, but he wants all the strings because he’s hooked. I don’t get much of a say in the matter, and that’s not surprising when I learn why—because he’s the Butcher. The crime lord of all crime lords, the boss that overshadows all of Paris, that makes everyone abide by his rules—or pay. And now I’m his.

To cheer up their depressed adopted daughter, Ashley Reid, my parents don't dare to treat me nicely. They've even locked me in a pitch-black room more than 700 times, just to put a smile on her face. At first, they feel guilty toward me. But eventually, even my older brother, Liam Reid, who used to care for me the most, treats it like it's all perfectly reasonable. When Ashley's depression finally starts to ease, I work up the courage to kneel and beg them to seal off that room for good. But at her birthday party, simply because I'm wearing the only T-shirt I own, she starts tearing up and asks my parents if I don't like her. My parents and Liam rush to comfort her and, yet again, lock me away in that dark, endless room. "Summer, you're her elder sister. You have to be more considerate of her feelings." "If you hadn't insisted on wearing something so tacky for her birthday party, she wouldn't have gotten so upset." "You've gotten used to it after all these years, right? One more time won't matter to you." I curl up in the corner, gripping my hair, unable to say a word. Three days later, they finally let me out. They remind me not to upset Ashley again. But I just stare at them blankly. "Sorry, who are you?"

Talia grew up without trusting anyone but herself to live. With no father figure to look up to and a clinically depressed mother who keeps on betraying her, Talia crawls her way to the top of the social chain to survive. But upon one drunken night, she meets her terrible end. Just like that, Talia loses all she worked hard for, or so she thought. When she wakes up, she becomes a duke’s eldest daughter in a medieval era where alliances and conspiracies dictate a noble’s future and where love is a luxury that will lead anyone to ruin. No matter how twisted the world she is pushed into, Talia is determined to live long. She realizes that she is given a second chance to live – or not. Reality slaps her hard when she learns that she is now inside the body of a sixteen-year-old villain character of the Netflix series that she binge-watched, “Thorny Crown”! Talia, who is now the infamous Lady Victoria, entered a popular yet twisted Netflix series two years before the plot started. And in that plot, the character of Lady Victoria is meant to die like cannon fodder for the female lead! Talia refuses to die again. And this time, she is going to extend her helping hand to another side character, the second prince of the story, Prince Cory. She decides to be the queen and defy the plot called destiny with the king of her choosing. In an era of deceit and conspiracies, will she be able to keep her head as she walks the thorny path of a villain? With her head on the line, will she be able to control her blooming feelings for the pawn that she has chosen?

Sarah is a dominating CEO who has a dark mysterious past. She was born in an unchartered island in Southeast Asia. Having experienced poverty at a very young age, she vowed to be the first female in their place to be successful in life. Lucky enough, a benefactor supported her financially so she can get into college and achieve her dreams. This is where she met Mark, the lone heir to a multi-million dollar company based in the Philippines. Their relationship went sour when Mark got depressed and broke up with her brought by jealousy since Sarah was able was able to graduate and he did not because of his carefree attitude. In spite of what transpired, Sarah continued pursuing her dreams. It is at this time that her past starts haunting her each time there is a blood moon. At nights like this, she transforms into a creature known as a manananggal, a half-woman with the wings of a bat who sucks blood out of her victims. Unfortunately, Mark’s mom and dad became one of them. Mark promised to kill Sarah and avenge the death of his parents. He even went to the extent of hiring a group called the ghost hunters to try and track her down. He also posted a price on the head of Sarah so the bounty hunters would go after her too. In one of their skirmishes, Sarah was captured. Mark devised a plan to save her and was successful. They both ran away into the mountains to escape their inevitable demise. But fate has its way of unfolding. Sarah bore a son out of her relationship with Mark. At first, they were not sure if their son inherited the curse of the manananggal. Their son inherited the curse of the blood thirst.

A secret desire of every man is to find love. To love, and be loved in return. But there are times when we think our poor heart has had enough, and we chose to give up on love. But as they say, the heart is not so wise. What happens when your mind says no, but your heart says yes? Alex; A beautiful, young fashion designer, who's been influenced by how her parent's marriage went and chooses to divorce the husband she still loves, in a bid to focus on her career. Amanda; A sex addict who's given up on men and love, and advices every woman around her to do so, till fate makes a sudden move on her. Audrey; A single mother whose lover abandoned five years ago, when she was just pregnant. Sia; An energetic, romance novel writer whose love interest has forgotten in the friend-zoned for many years. Phoebe; A soon-to-be-married young lady, who constantly has fights with her fiance as she suspects he's cheating. Follow these five friend s on a journey of how they learn to love again and get their lives on track. It's gonna be quite a read.

Barry Ocason, extreme sportsman and outdoor travel writer, receives a magazine in his mailbox and opens to an ad for an adventure in the Bavarian Alps. Initially dismissing the invitation, which seems to have been meant specifically for him, he soon finds himself involved in a larger plot and seeking answers to why an individual known only as the elephant man is terrorizing his family. Barry and his daughter Kristen, who survived a twin sister taken from the family at a young age, travel from Juneau, Alaska to the sinister Spider Festival in Rio Tago, Brazil, before he ultimately answers the call to Bavaria, where the puzzle begins to come together. Amid tribulation, death, madness, and institutionalization, a document emerges describing a scientist’s bloody bid to breed a theoretical “third twin,” which is believed to have the potential, through its connection with its siblings, to bridge the gulf between life and afterlife. The godlike creature that soon emerges turns out to be Barry’s own offspring, and she has dark plans for the world of her conception that neither her father nor any other mortal can stop. ©️ Crystal Lake Publishing

"But all these scars, they will always remind you of the beast that I am." He said in a hushed tones, caressing the scars on her face. "Not when they can be turned into beautiful scars." Her response echoed with confusion and incredulity to him. How could all the pain he had inflicted on her turn into something good? A broken and desperate, depressed Billionaire, and the poorest of all naive girl who just lost everything in a blink of an eye, and her mother just traded her like a piece of trash. They are to be bound together by a contract as husband and wife for just five months. Everything seems to be under control, until one night of total madness that complicates everything. She had done and sacrificed so much for him, asking nothing in return or ever complaining. In return, he asked for one night to treat her like the loving wife she is supposed to be. One night they surrendered and lost their souls to each other, marking the beginning of their unquenchable thirsts for each other. In the short run, a bond is formed. What happens if the two of them break the major rule of the contract? Who will bear the blame? What's the punishment for such an offense? When feelings arise, can they embrace them? But what happens when his real love returns? His crush. His first love. The one he once went insane for. She doesn't return empty-handed. She is seven months pregnant with the son he thought she lost. What will he do? Wait... His passionate nights with his contract wife bore fruits too. She is expecting his child. Will he marry both of them, or who will he choose?

"When I set my eyes on your beauty, I become like a vampire that is staring at blood." ~~ How about loving someone with great expectations that you will end up together with him but later on find out that fate has decided otherwise for you two? That he has to be a villain and you a hero? Lavina is very depressed when this happens to her but since a heartbreak doesn't mean the end of one's life, she decides to go on with her life. A life which is a cake with problems as a cream. A life in which her father makes a decision that makes his family a public enemy, every pack member wanting them dead and death remaining the only way out one could think of. At that critical moment, she meets Byron, a lycan who shields her out of kindness risking his only asset in life, his life. "You're my mate!" Byron whispers into her ears. Geez... They are mates trapped together in a swirl of hatred and mystries from centuries circling around them. Their packs have been rivals for a millenium. Only hatred towards each other was what their mothers breastfed them. 'If you find one of them kill him' was the motto that their fathers told them to learn by heart. Is he going to be her forever shield? Or he is going to turn his back against her leaving her inbetween the fangs of enraged wolves? What if Lavina finds out that Byron is the one who killed her twinsister? Will his protection still mean anything to her?

After deciding to leave Azurea and follow Clara Miller to Northwood City, I was cast out by my parents. "That girl is an orphan–what can she possibly give you? If you choose a life of hardship now, you’ll spend the rest of your life suffering! Once you walk out that door, don’t bother coming back!" I left anyway. For five years, I watched Clara rise step by step, becoming one of Northwood City’s most respected psychologists. Just as she had promised, she gave me a home. As the New Year approached, I planned to take her back to Azurea to reconcile with my parents. However, just before boarding the plane, she abandoned me again–this time for a depressed patient threatening to take his own life. She let go of my hand, her eyes full of pain. "Julian Vance… he’s just like I used to be–alone, with no one to rely on. If I don’t go, he’ll jump. I’m sorry. Just this once. I’ll catch the next flight and meet you there." Then she turned and ran toward the exit without hesitation. I stood there, staring at the two plane tickets in my hand. She had saved everyone who needed redemption. Everyone… except me. Slowly, I tore up her ticket. Then I walked alone toward the security gate and turned off my phone. What Clara did not know was this: Some journeys home, once missed, are gone forever.

"Why......... You don't even care about me, ever since I stepped into this house all you do is ignore me, it hurts you know." Layla broke down into tears, without warning, Theodore pulled her to a kiss, Layla tried pulling away from him but he didn't buldge, it didn't take long for her to melt in his arms, returning the kiss. --- Layla, who was sentenced to ten years for murder, a crime she didn't commit was sad and depressed, during the process she lost her mother, everthing felt hopeless, she gave up on life until she was given a chance to get married to a multi billionaire, Layla was sceptical at first but she accepted, she couldn't get a job or a place to stay because of her record so it was a plus for her. Theodore on the other hand is a multi billionaire, he lost his father at a young age and his mother who he thought was loving and caring left his at a young age with his sisters who were kids, after that Theodore grew to have hatred for women, when he was asked to get married he didn't want to but had to accept because of his grandfather. Theodore didn't like Layla but as time passed by he couldn't help but fall for her and she also felt the same, after a very difficult time together, he discovered her secrets and in that process they learnt about their love for each other, he helped her get revenge and she helped heal his heart.